TEMECULA: Many apartment complexes still not recycling

This Temecula apartment complex is one of several in Southwest Riverside County that still has not come into compliance with a July 2012 state law that requires apartments to provide recycling opportunities to its residents.

The Renters Right to Recycle Act, which requires California apartment complexes to provide recycling opportunities to their residents, will be a year old July 1.

Many complexes, however, are not yet in compliance with the law. Recycling bins are not on many properties throughout southwest Riverside County.

âThereâs no penalty, nothing in it that forces them to do that,â said Dale West, a Temecula senior associate in charge of the solid waste recycling program.

According to the recycling law, only 40 percent of apartment dwellers have access to recycling, which leads to a much smaller 15 percent diversion of reusable waste. The state estimates that more than 7 million people live in roughly 2.4 million multi-family dwellings.

The low rate of recycling in apartments led to the law requiring apartment-complex managers and commercial business owners to provide recycling services in some form.

West said Temecula rolled out its oversight of the law by focusing first on commercial businesses first and will begin to hone in more on multi-family housing in the coming fiscal year that begins July 1.

âWhether itâs at your apartment complex or your business, it guarantees your right to recycle,â said Eloisa Orozco, spokeswoman for Waste Management, which serves Murrieta, Menifee and Wildomar. âWeâre out there educating people about this, so they know they can be in compliance.â

Various other bills also set recycling goals for cities and counties without placing mandates on property owners. The change in the law caused confusion, said Dolores Sanchez Badillo, community relations specialist for CR&R, the waste hauler serving Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Perris and Hemet, among other cities.

âWe had some really concerned and worried apartment managers who were afraid they were going to be sued or they were going to be fined,â Sanchez Badillo said.

However, the bill provides a two- to four-year window for compliance checks and then a system of warning letters before fines are doled out.

With the first year already off the calendar, property managers are likely to face concerns that have prevented them thus far from providing the service.

âItâs really difficult because itâs a transient nature â" people come and go,â Sanchez Badillo said. (Recycling) can sometimes be a headache because itâs an opportunity for people to illegally dump in another bin out there. It creates extra work on their end.â

INFORMATION EFFORTS

Last year, the California Apartment Association teamed up with the California League of Cities to launch an educational campaign to inform complexes across the state of the new law, said Debra Carlton, the associationâs senior vice president of public affairs.

However, Carlton said, several factors could be causing the delay in getting recycling bins onto properties. Among those factors are costs, space for the bins and stalled negotiations between the complexes and waste haulers.

Waste Management, too, launched an informational campaign offering tips to property managers on how to conform to state law. The tips included appointing a recycling âchampionâ to recycle at the front office for practice and to be more conscientious about printing and other wastes.

Join the conversation

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to allow Freedom Communications, Inc. the right to republish your name and comment in additional Freedom publications without any notification or payment.